23 years sought for 'Luffy' crime group member over aiding robberies in Japan
Tomonobu Kojima, 47, is accused of assisting robberies resulting in injury and other crimes directed remotely by the group, whose members used monikers such as "Luffy," after the name of a popular manga character, and recruited individuals through social media to carry out the crimes.
Kojima played a "key role" in the robberies, a prosecutor said at the Tokyo District Court. His defense counsel called for 11 years in prison, saying his involvement in the group's crimes was limited.
The court is scheduled to hand down a ruling on July 23.
In his first hearing earlier this month, Kojima admitted to the charges but denied being a senior member, describing himself as a "handyman" instead.
The defendant is among four senior members indicted for allegedly giving instructions to their subordinates in eight main robbery cases. The crime ring is suspected of being involved in more than 50 cases of robbery, theft and other crimes across 14 prefectures.
According to the indictment, Kojima introduced people who were recruited to carry out robberies to Toshiya Fujita, 41, another senior member of the group, in cases between October and December of 2022.
Kojima is also accused of conspiring with Kiyoto Imamura, 41, who is believed to have used the pseudonym "Luffy" personally, to pose as a Financial Services Agency official in 2019 to steal cash cards and withdraw money, the indictment said.
The fourth senior member, Yuki Watanabe, 41, has also been indicted along with Imamura and Fujita for a robbery in the Tokyo suburbs in January 2023 that resulted in the death of a 90-year-old woman.
All four men were deported from the Philippines in February 2023. They are suspected of issuing instructions for the eight robberies on the encrypted messaging app Telegram while being held at a Manila immigration facility before their deportation.
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